Space is limited and registration is required. Please visit Opus North Vancouver or contact them at 604‑904‑0447 to register.

The Big Picture is a collective art project where people in our local area and around the world are collaborating to create a big mosaic picture from thousands of smaller drawings.

If you would like to participate in this exciting project and agree to any of the following:

The idea of drawing sends chills down your spine

You have an interesting story to share

Last time you drew something was in elementary school

Your dog ate all your drawings (we won’t ask…)

You want to try some simple exercises for yourself

You feel like attending a demo by two heavily French accented ladies

Then this is the demo for you!

Sandrine and Sophie will show you some simple drawing techniques: line contour drawing, line and cross hatching, cross contour drawing, scumbling technique, drawing with twigs. You will also have the chance to try for yourself some fun techniques like continuous drawing, blind continuous drawing, and drawing with your non dominant hand.

Attendees are asked to bring along a sketchbook and a pencil or pen to sketch along with Sandrine and Sophie.

Sandrine Pelissier is a North Vancouver-based visual artist and the author of Fearless Watercolor for Beginners. Her work has been published in many books and magazines.

Sophie Babeanu is a certified Expressive Arts Therapist. She graduated from Langara College in Vancouver and is also a member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA). She has hundreds of hours of practice with children, seniors and adults from all walks of life.

From Acrylicsworks: Value is one of the key art elements of any two-dimensional artwork. To many artists, value represents the single most important element of a painting. The compositional structure that the tonal values create in a painting is the framework that holds everything else—color and detail—together. In a complex painting, the artist generally decides on a value key, whether in the light or dark range, or a full range of values from black to white. It is tonal value that most creates the illusion of three dimensions in an artwork, and it is also the foundation of composition. One cannot overstate the importance of value in painting and drawing. For the AcrylicWorks 5 contest, we are looking for excellence in acrylic painting in a variety of styles and subjects. The dominant medium must be acrylic, but some minor use of other media is acceptable. If selected, you will be asked to write about your painting in relation to the theme Bold Values. This could be interpreted through your creative or technical process, materials and/or artistic inspiration.

Very nice to see Green Bouquet and Slice of Life-Louise in this selection of gorgeous acrylic paintings!

Color has the power to demand attention, quicken the heart and transport us to another place and time. The virtuosos featured in AcrylicWorks 4 have successfully employed acrylic paint to capture and use that power to magnificent effect.

This brilliant collection features 127 paintings from modern-day acrylic artists. The artists themselves reveal acrylic painting ideas, tips and secrets, sharing how they play colors against each other–light and dark, bright and soft, delicate glazes and bold impasto–to make their paintings sing. They share secrets for creating mood, capturing a subject’s personality and conveying the spirit of an animal in the wild. And how they approach subjects ranging from a shock of sunset sky, to the liquid ripples of antique glass, to purely abstract color play.

It’s the kind of collection that reminds artists why they paint and gives art lovers a real appreciation for the breathtaking possibilities of this most versatile medium.

I made 2 art lessons for the Cloth Paper scissors magazine and this is the second one: It shows you how to add visual texture with a dipping pen. The lesson comes with a lot of pictures and even a short video.

Art Lessons: Volume 2 with Sandrine Pelissier Adding Visual Texture with a Dip Pen By Sandrine PelissierFormat: Art Lesson DownloadPatterns are a great way to add complexity to a painting, and a dip pen is an inexpensive, easy-to-use tool for creating them. In this February Art Lesson, with accompanying video, Sandrine Pelissier uses a dip pen to create unique patterns, adding visual texture and depth to her paintings. Read along as Sandrine shares her techniques and her art, and turns you into a dip pen enthusiast.​

Art Classes on The Artist Network

You can also check these inspiring blog posts on the ​Cloth Paper Scissors blog

I am very excited about this new partnership with galerie Bloom in Montreal. They are in the process of moving to a new, bigger location in the old-Montreal neighborhood and will have a few paintings of mine in their new location. If you live in the area, pop in the gallery to see their selection of original art: 224, rue St-Paul Ouest Montréal (Québec) H2Y 1Z9 tel: 514-419-2233

I am very excited to be teaching a 2 days workshop in Calgary for the FCA Calgary chapter on the weekend of February 18-19. If you live in the area, registration will open online on January 18th:http://www.fcacalgary.ca/workshops.htm